MUSICALS: Wandelprobe

[nmno]

Ok, so I've done plenty of sitzprobes, but on my current show they've decided to do a wandelprobe - which I guessed the meaning of but still had to actually look up to be sure.  What do I need to know?

Edit added tag to subject line-Rebbe

[lsears]

Speak to your conductor and your director about if they anticipate using ANY props or scenery, or if they will just be wandel-ing around a bare stage.  I once did a Cosi where the union crew was released for meal break during the wandel because the director didn't want to use props, but at downbeat the conductor said the timing of the props was too linked to the music and it became a full out run. (Because it was a music rehearsal the conductor trumped the director, and our production manager called the crew back. They went into overtime by the time they did the wandel, reset for the piano tech that followed and then actually ran the piano tech without a meal break.)

Occasionally a lighting designer will want to build cues over the wandel, its a bonus for them to hear the full orchestration and see the singers move.  The extent of the cuing should be talked about in advance, some conductors hate having the lights change while they are doing the initial work with the singers.

Enjoy.

[ReyYaySM]

While my producer likes to call it a "wandelprobe," my musical director likes to call it a "work-through with the band."  We typically hold ours the day before we start tech but the actors are in mics so that sound can begin setting preliminary levels.  I sit by the musical director so that I can call holds for him as necessary and keep us on schedule.  We use everything that we have available to us in terms of set and props, especially since sound is working (but I'm in a non-union house).  The musical director sets the priorities for the rehearsal, and the director and choreographer generally watch and take notes as we generally don't stop unless the musical director needs to. 

Talk to your director, musical director/conductor and production manager about the expectations for the wandelprobe. 

[VSM]

My experience has been if we have it, we use it. Props, set pieces, as long as they don't slow down the rehearsal. This rehearsal belongs to the Musical Director/Conductor so what they say goes. I let them decide if they want to go back for ography but the emphasis is on the music. Staging is an added plus. Meet with Conductor, Director & Choreographer beforehand so everyone is on the same page and agrees which department takes priority. Two cents...

[BLee]

The last wandelprobe I was involved in we made the determination that it would be the performers singing from the area they would singing from. Ours was important for the maestro and singers to check they could easily see eachother. Although we would have liked to have had the crew on break during that time, some of the singing positions were on moving scaffolds that they crew moved. No set pieces, props, furniture, etc. Just singers singing from their spots. Hugely beneficial.

Although directors like to involve themselves on the Wandelprobes, it should be a rehearsal for the maestro. The biggest concern when a sitzprobe suddenly becomes a wandelprobe is that it will suddenly become a run and no longer focused on the music. I would highly advise avoiding any additional elements than the singers and the maestro checking visibility and sound. Of course that isn't to say the designers can't use the time to work on sound and light, as long as it does not distract the singers from the goal of the rehearsal.